The Academy

They ended up letting me out of the hospital the next day but made my mom promise she would keep an eye on me. She and I went to the Hampton’s house the day after I was let out, just the two of us. Dad was working, Braden was being Braden, and Brittany had school. My mother and I haven’t spent time, just the two of us for an extended period of time since I was 13 and I went with her to a filming of a movie she wrote. After that, I was lucky when she came to the breakfast table or came out of her office to watch a movie with me.

I was still going to be a week late to Kloss since my mom wasn’t sure I would be able to handle it right away. Cassie, who lived the closest to the Hamptons wanted to come and visit me before heading back but I told her not to since I would be back at Kloss in no time. The group was pretty upset about what happened to me, all concerned. Something my California friends were not. I hadn’t received any calls or emails or text messages, or really any form of apology from any of them. Not that I would accept it but an apology should be expected. Sorry just doesn’t cut it when you almost accidentally kill someone. I was most surprised about Dylan since he was most like a brother to me and very protective. I expected better from him in all honesty.

I had woken up early this morning, like I had been doing for most of the week. It wasn’t that I wanted to. My brain would wake me up and make it impossible to fall back to sleep. After an hour of tossing and turning, I figured I’d go lay out by the pool with a book and glass of lemonade. That’s what I was doing when my mom came out and laid in the chair beside me. She’d also been doing this for most of the week, barely leaving my side for more than five minutes unless to sleep or go to the bathroom. It was oddly nice having her care about me as much as she was. She hadn’t taken care of me like this since I was 11 and I had to get my tonsils out.

I still remember watching chick flicks on the couch all day while I was recovering. Braden was still in school and Brittany was in second grade while dad was at work at the office. She’d bring me ice cream and ice cold water and watch Uptown Girls with me every day for a week. I hadn’t thought about that week in years. Like most teenagers, I had forgotten about the innocence of childhood, the innocence lost in the haze of partying and booze. I had forgotten about the little moments I had spent with my mother. I was a mommy’s girl when I was younger.

“How are you feeling sweetie?” She smiled at me, a notebook lying on her lap. Even now she would write her scripts down. But I couldn’t expect her life to completely stop for me.

“Every day I’ve been getting a bit better, I guess,” I shrugged. “Remember that week when I was 11 and I had just gotten my tonsils out and we sat on the couch eating ice cream and watching Uptown Girls and other romantic comedies?”

“Of course I do,” She smiled again. “You would cuddle into me and act like my little girl again. Every sad part, you’d cuddle a little closer and hold on to me to make sure I wasn’t crying, even though I usually was.” It was silent for a little bit, neither of us said anything but my mom broke the silence. “I think we have uptown girls here if you’d like to watch it with me, like when you were 11.”

I smiled, a genuine smile, something I hadn’t done around her in years. “I’d love to.” She stood up and held her hand out for me to take, which I did and stood up, walking into the house with her. I sat on the couch while she put the DVD in the player and sat next to me. She patted her lap for me to lay my head on and began running her fingers through my hair.

“It’s sad this could be the last time we do this,” She sighed.

“What do you mean?” I asked, looking up at her confused.

“You’ll be a senior and graduating from school soon and then go off and do your own thing,” She explained. “You’ve grown into a wonderful lady, Riley. I’m proud to say you’re my daughter. You’re strong, independent, and intelligent. Sure, you’ve partied a bit too much but that’s part of being a young adult. I know you’re going to do great things though.”

I smiled at her but didn’t say anything. I wasn’t sure what to say. She’d never really praised me before, not like this. I wasn’t used to it. It was nice though, just not something I was used to.

~~~~~~~~

It was the Friday I was going back to Kloss. Classes had just let out when my mom dropped me off. She helped me put everything in my room and gave me a kiss on the head before leaving. I hadn’t told anyone I was coming back today so I guess they were all at the student lounge getting ready to watch a movie and eat pizza like every school Friday.

I walked my way to the student lounge and noticed people staring, probably thinking they’d seen a ghost. Rumors had probably spread quickly, each student hearing something different but not sure what to believe anymore after hearing ten different stories. I didn’t feel like wasting my time and telling them what really happened. It was none of their business. They can believe what they want, whether it be the truth or not.

I arrived to the student lounge and saw everyone scattered around it just talking, probably fighting about a movie to watch, no one looking out the window to see me standing there. I smiled slightly at the sight of what I now believed to be my only true friends, the only ones I really needed in my life anymore, the only ones that actually cared about me and the only ones I cared about. I opened the door being careful not to make a sound.

“So whose turn is it to pick a movie this Friday?” I laughed as the door closed behind me, crossing my arms over my chest. Everyone looked up and over at me, and when they finally registered what had happened, their faces lit up.

“Riley!” The three girls squealed running up to hug me. I wrapped my arms around the three of them while they constricted me.

“We’ve missed you! The dorm has not been the same without you! I thought they were going to give me a new roommate before you got back!” Cassie exclaimed.

“Why didn’t you tell anyone you were coming back today?” Claire asked as everyone let go.

“Am I not allowed to surprise my best friends?” I laughed. I walked over and sat on the couch next to Audrina who was next to Jimmy, his arm around her. I guess I had to question her later about it. Instead of watching a movie tonight, we caught up and told stories about our summer. I knew I’d have to answer questions about what happened two weeks ago but at least it was just my friends.

“Have your California friends talked to you at all?” Devin asked, sitting indian style on the floor.

“Nope,” I shook my head. “They haven’t tried to talk to me at all. According to my mom they’re all in rehab, separate ones. I doubt it’s going to work though. They have those addicting personalities and I don’t think it’s going to be a one stop at a rehab kind of thing.”

“What do you think is going to happen after you go home after this year?” Claire asked.

I hadn’t even thought about it. After this year, I would be going home and not only for three months. I wouldn’t be coming back to Kloss in the fall, I wouldn’t spend three months without my only friends in the world. I would be alone, back in California. “I’m not entirely sure what I’m going to do now. I haven’t really thought about it. I think it’s safe to say though that I’ll be more careful with my partying in the future.”

“Well, you’ll have us,” Brent said. “We’ll be in California this summer recording with your father so we’ll be around more than not.”

“And I’ll be out to visit Christian sometimes, so I’ll be able to visit you too,” Cassie added.

“Don’t worry, just because we live in different places doesn’t mean we’re not going to see each other. Just imagine the people who go to boarding school their whole lives and don’t know anyone else other than their boarding school friends, they keep in touch. We’re going to keep in touch with you and everyone else,” Audrina smiled.

“Thanks guys,” I smiled weakly. “This is exactly the welcome back I wanted.”

The rest of the night went the same, catching up and goofing around like last year, before heading back to our dorms. Before Cassie, Claire, Audrina, and I decided to go to bed, I decided to surprise them with gifts. Over the summer I decided to do some cleaning of my closets in Beverly Hills and the Hamptons and I ended up filling three paper bags with clothes and decided to give them to the girls, kind of as a thank you for being my friend. Kind of cheesy but I knew each of their styles pretty well and I owned a lot of stuff I thought they’d like. I was apparently right as they squealed and hugged me once again before Claire and Audrina left the room and headed to their dorm room. Cassie and I fell asleep soon after. I’d never felt more at home than I do at Kloss. Over the past year, it’s become a sense of normal to me and I knew after this year I’d definitely miss it.